"We appeal to the people
who took these items to return them immediately so they can be cared
for by their proper guardians and remain in their turangawaewae[resting place].

"He added “This will have a major impact on local Maori. We appeal to the thieves to do the right thing and bring the taonga home".

On Friday the items mysteriously resurfaced and were taken to the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa in Wellington. No other details of the return have been released, though one may speculate that the thief's intention may have been to get these sacred (?) objects out of private hands.

About Me

British archaeologist living and working in Warsaw, Poland. Since the early 1990s (or even longer) a primary interest has been research on artefact hunting and collecting and the market in portable antiquities in the international context and their effect on the archaeological record.